Tag: specialty decaf coffee

coffee

Giving Decaf Its Flowers: Fresh Cup’s Breakdown Of Specialty Decaf

Ashe

“We see a lot of people limiting caffeine for health reasons, and with wellness trends and more caffeine-conscious customers, I think we’ll continue to see an increase in decaf consumption.”

And there it is. The much maligned decaf coffee is actually quite popular and solving the problems of several demographics. Who would’ve guessed?

Sarcasm aside, Fresh Cup Magazine‘s breakdown of the specialty decaf popularity boom in the United States is a fantastic read. Not only do they analyze the history behind the drink’s poor reputation, they interview a specialty coffee roaster to understand their decision to add more decaf and half-caf options to their menu. The negative reputation of decaf is slowly, but surely, being put to bed.

People with heart conditions. People with anxiety disorders and caffeine sensitives. People who want a more stable sleep schedule or are watching their blood pressure. One way or another, decaf coffee provides a wealth of benefits and it’s about time this drink is receiving its flowers.

a bright orange hand peeling back sticker on decaf coffee bag
coffee, guide

How to Improve Your Decaf Coffee Marketing and Attract More Buyers

Ashe

Decaf coffee marketing is pretty archaic. For all the developments the coffee industry makes technologically and culturally, this niche might as well be in the stone age!

Coffee marketing in general aims to provide several critical values in a single package. On average, a coffee bag will boast its environmental sustainability, ethical sourcing commitment, and/or specialty bean cultivation. Where decaf coffee marketing often stumbles is its missed opportunities. When today’s approaches are not spouting tired catchphrases, they’re failing to stress the physical or mental health benefits.

Falling back on clichés may be easier, but they won’t make your business stand out from the competition (and may even turn buyers off entirely).

How can you improve your decaf coffee marketing to raise awareness or clinch more buyers? I’m going to share a few tips on how to promote your coffee business, from my perspective as both a coffee marketer and a passionate decaf drinker.

Continue reading “How to Improve Your Decaf Coffee Marketing and Attract More Buyers” →
banner for talking crow roasters decaf sampler pack
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Talking Crow Roasters’ Decaf Sampler Pack

Ashe

Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. A coffee roaster that specializes in decaf…with decaf sampler packs?

It’s no secret that being a decaf drinker means being comfortable with disappointment. When we’re not faced with The Token Decaf Bag while scrolling through a roaster’s portfolio, we’re sometimes faced with no bag whatsoever. To top things off, we’re inundated with lazy marketing tactics that treat decaf coffee like a punishment, a joke, or a cryptid to be whispered about.

It’s a little obnoxious, to say the least.

This purchase is a lesson in great coffee marketing. Talking Crow Roasters has eschewed the silly approach with a celebration of decaf as a coffee category worthy of nuance. They’re also Washington-based, which means I really had no excuse to take this long.

What do Talking Crow Roasters bring to the table other than a commitment to decaf coffee? Let’s take a look:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Talking Crow Roasters’ Decaf Sampler Pack” →
onyx coffee lab decaf la serrania banner
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Onyx Coffee Lab’s Decaf La Serrania

Ashe

It’s always good news when a favorite roaster brings in another decaf.

Being a strict decaf coffee drinker can leave you disappointed when browsing roasters. We often get the short end of the stick when it comes to portfolio variety. A token decaf bag is the standard (and still not always guaranteed). Two bags is a nice surprise! Three bags is very rare. Anything more than three might as well be a blue moon, and you should savor it just as much.

I check back with my favorite roasters every few months to see if they have anything new. While most roasters keep a consistent rotation of their default decaf bag, some shake things up by cycling in new ones a few times per year. Onyx Coffee Lab gives me plenty to love as a decaf drinker, keeping their portfolio dynamic with new decaf and half-caf options. While I still can’t drink the latter (yes, I’m that sensitive), I’m glad it exists.

If you’re as eager to try different kinds of decaf coffee as I am, check out my Decaf, Decaf Everywhere series (which has a variety of specialty and non-specialty options). I recently took a look at a Washington coffee roaster that slipped my notice, as well as revisited another favorite roaster of mine.

Why is Colombian coffee so good and a regular favorite on my review lists? Let’s see why Onyx Coffee Lab and this origin have earned such a positive reputation:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Onyx Coffee Lab’s Decaf La Serrania” →
merit coffee
coffee

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Merit Coffee Co.’s Sugarcane Decaf

Ashe

This decaf coffee was a long time coming.

I keep a list of American roasters that offer decaf in their line-up. Why? Because even now, many don’t prioritize decaffeinating their beans. It’s a combination of a few factors. Coffee is already a very intensive process. You have the planting, cultivation, and harvesting of coffee on the producer end. Then there’s processing the beans using methods ranging from natural to wet. Then you have to store them, ship them, then roast them before they even reach the consumer.

Decaffeination is just another step in a pile of them. As much as it pains me to say, I can understand why the already strained coffee production line-up opts out.

Merit Coffee Co. is one of the first roasters I ever wrote down in my list, catching my eye with their elegant packaging design and their commitment to high-quality, single-origin coffee. While they only have one decaf bag to their name, it’s one I was eager to try for its lovely sounding flavor profile. They’re one of the more expensive single-origin decaf bags I’ve had to buy, too, and that’s on top of details like shipping and sales tax.

Was it worth it? Let’s take a look:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Merit Coffee Co.’s Sugarcane Decaf” →
sparrows coffee
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Sparrows Coffee Decaf La Serrania

Ashe

I just love good packaging design. Some believe it to be a secondary detail to the coffee, but to me, they’re two sides of the same coin.

You eat with your eyes first, as the saying goes. Packaging design has a tall order standing out from the rest of the competition while ticking off the basics of communication design: the who, what and why. Coffee packaging, whether ground or whole, has a common list of must-have details to get customers involved at a glance. Origin, decaffeination method, roast level, roast date, flavor notes…just to name a few. Some go the extra mile and list off altitude, processing method and the coffee bean variety.

Sparrows Coffee‘s splashy design is a great starting point, but how does the coffee itself stack up? If you want to start trying out specialty decaf coffee (and the occasional wholesale variety) yourself, check out my directory to get started with today’s best American coffee roasters. I recently reviewed the sweet and fruity Ruby Coffee Roasters’ Decaf Cauca, as well as the earthy Kuma Coffee’s Peru San Ignacio Decaf.

Let’s dive in:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Sparrows Coffee Decaf La Serrania” →
disgusted woman
coffee

This Cafe Wants You To Try A Charcoal Latte. Don’t.

Ashe

Do I even need to get any more specific?

Food Insider recently posted a video on a London cafe offering an innovative ‘charcoal latte’ designed for people who don’t want to drink decaf. Because, you know…decaf coffee doesn’t exist. They proceed to compare it with their recent matcha and turmeric latte offerings, two vastly superior and safer options that don’t involve you consuming ashy remains.

To put things in perspective, I won’t even eat toast that’s too burnt. …Yeah. Now imagine a cup full of the stuff.

This is more than just a gross idea. Did you know charcoal can alter your hormone levels and affect the validity of hormonal birth control? How about the fact it can block up your intestinal tract if you consume too much? I thought cafes shunning COVID-19 safety protocol were dangerous, but this might just take the cake. The prettiest latte art in the world doesn’t hide the fact that you’re drinking the burnt detritus of what was actually food, once upon a time.

(and if you want to detoxify your body, take solace in the fact your liver is already doing that)

Now, yes, activated charcoal pills are recommended by doctors in rare cases for overdoses. This, though, is just too much to be chugging weekly. Pretty latte art and twee glass mason jars won’t hide the fact this is an actual health hazard being marketed as a hip new idea to unsuspecting customers.

My favorite part of this whole mess has to be the relief that a charcoal latte didn’t taste like charcoal. When the tagline of your product could be confused for an Onion headline, you’ve messed up.

ruby coffee roasters
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Ruby Coffee Roasters’ Decaf Cauca

Ashe

Here’s to Colombia! I return to this origin again and again, because it always gives me complex cups with unique personalities depending on the brewing method.

Colombia is one of today’s leading producers, hovering at number two in sheer production and adding up to a whopping 10% of global coffee exports. It’s far from a quality over quantity situation, though, and this origin has been my favorite for a while now. Onyx Coffee Lab, Counter Culture Coffee and Methodical Coffee are just a few of the incredible single origin and specialty decaf coffee bags I’ve tried from this country.

Colombian coffee is often sweet and nuanced, boasting a wide medley of flavors and often creamy, heavy mouthfeels. I can’t get enough.

What does Ruby Coffee Roasters add to Colombia’s reputation? Does it hold up among today’s best single origin decaf coffee? Let’s take a look at this leading origin and why it remains a powerhouse. If you want to see more on quality decaf coffee, check out my recent review on Methodical Coffee’s Decaf Cauca.

Without further ado:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Ruby Coffee Roasters’ Decaf Cauca” →
kuma coffee peru san ignacio decaf
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Kuma Coffee’s Peru San Ignacio Decaf

Ashe

This bag nearly drove me mad…but not in a bad way.

To start off, the first few attempts at brewing this coffee went sour due to my accidentally buying the wrong filter from Melitta. Take it from me…just because it looks like a pourover filter doesn’t mean it’s a pourover filter. Secondly, I could’ve sworn I’d already written a review on it! It was just so good it didn’t click to me I hadn’t crowed about it to all and sundry. Well. Coffee is nothing if not an event and Kuma Coffee sticks out in my mind for nearly every reason in the book.

So…was it worth all the trouble? Let’s find out! If you haven’t read my past specialty decaf coffee reviews, check out my Decaf, Decaf Everywhere series in the directory. I recently reviewed Methodical Coffee’s Decaf Cauca, a tart and fruity delight that I (surprisingly!) preferred drinking black.

Without further ado:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Kuma Coffee’s Peru San Ignacio Decaf” →
methodical coffee banner
coffee, review

Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Methodical Coffee’s Decaf Cauca

Ashe

I am living proof that coffee newsletters are a very effective marketing tool in the long-term.

Several months ago, near the beginning of the year, I signed up for Methodical Coffee‘s newsletter as a reminder to try out their decaf. In-between other specialty coffee bag purchases they would crop up in my email’s promotions tab with new coffee bags or behind-the-scenes peeks. I wouldn’t end up buying it until several months later.

While ‘now’ is a more preferred word than ‘later’ in the rapidfire world of business, it stands to reason a good business encourages customers of every single stripe. The ready-to-buys. The not-quite-sures. The ‘I totally want to buy this, it just keeps slipping my mind in a sea of marketing competition’s.

I’m eager to get down and dirty with this lovely single origin decaf coffee bag and all the interesting journeys it took me on. If you haven’t read my previous entries in my decaf coffee series Decaf, Decaf Everywhere, check out my directory.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at Methodical Coffee and see if their bag lives up to its build-up:

Continue reading “Decaf, Decaf Everywhere: Methodical Coffee’s Decaf Cauca” →